The Last of Us Review. *Spoilers* with several mutiplayer tips

I haven't forgotten about this blog, even though it seems like it.  I'm just being really lazy about finding a new photo hosting website where I can stick all my wonderful pictures of toys on there. 

Nonspoiler.  Naughty Dog your instruction manual was so bare bones I don't get why you included a digital copy.   The manual could have been printed on a small instruction booklet and included what was really necessary in my opinion, the manual for multiplayer. 

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***Spoilers Start***
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As for The Last of Us.  Like Uncharted 2 it has received much praise and has been called the best game for PS3.  While is it is a fun game with very good visuals I feel it has some flaws.   I personally wouldn't give it a 10/10 like so many game reviewers are doing.   Sometimes I feel like Naughty Dog has deep pockets and those reviews are based on how much Naughty Dog pays them.  

-Gameplay.  The Last of Us feels like a slower version of Uncharted 2 at times. The player is forced to walk slowly and  and cannot move swiftly unless there is action.  It usually isn't a good idea to move fast during action bits either as it alerts enemies to the player's presence.  So if you're reading my review you'll probably hear how this is the greatest game ever well I think it's ok.  You technically only fight two types of enemies. Humans and mutated humans.   If you count the varieties there are only five different enemies to fight in the entire game and it gets really repetitive.  You get a good amount of weapons to use but not enough ammo to use them!   I know Naughty Dog was going for realism but how come I have plenty of ammo for the flame thrower during the later part of the game when I barely have enough bullets for my revolver??!?  

Naughty dog showed off the AI for this game and said it would be amazing and mind blowing, I know I'm exaggerating here but the AI isn't so great.  When I played my partners rarely were able to take down opponents on their own.  They would often get grabbed by zombies and need my assistance in fighting them off.   Human enemies would react to my presence and take cover but would soon forget I existed or gave up looking for me.   The infected always ran straight for me even if they lost sight of me.  The exception is the Clicker type enemy.  With hand to hand it's usually best to let the weaker infected get close enough to start swinging their fists to miss you then and then start mashing the melee button on them rather than hitting the melee button when they are in range. 

In the hardest difficulty setting in single player they take away prompts which makes the game much more difficult. There is no Listen Mode for Joel.  There also isn't enough supplies to craft all the items you need.   This is supposed to be more realistic but what it does it create a game that is increasingly difficult. I think they could have left in Listen Mode for Survivor difficulty but made it so it has a stamina bar like in multiplayer. 

-Story.  This game has a good story.  Definitely one of the games strongest points.  I don't want to spoil it too much but the story is great.   The ending however... what's the polite way to put this, sucked big time.  This game felt more like a movie with  video game elements added into it, rather than a video game with cut scenes. 

-Graphics. I can't argue here.  Great graphics both ingame and cutscene.   With the PS4 around the corner the in game graphics are starting to look dated but they still look amazing. 

-Multiplayer.  (You the reader will probably not understand what I am talking about until you play the game.)    The multiplayer in this game is flawed, mostly due to lag, but I am addicted to it.  Sometimes I ask myself why bother playing the multiplayer if I get so angry but I find it satisfying using what little resources I have and making a weapon which is then used to take down my opponents.  But oh boy does that lag hurt sometimes.   Emptying whole magazines of a fully upgraded gun into a foe and have him not go down only for him to shoot three bullets from his little pea shooter to execute you is really frustrating.  Not to mention the match making is somewhat flawed.  Another gripe I have is trying to support your clan over one hundred people can be difficult if you not dedicate hours to reach the end.  Not to mention the game throws in a mechanic which has your survivor group attacked a lot during the end.   There's no way I can have over 85 survivors at the end of week 12 if I get attacked twice during weeks 10-12... each attack takes away a fraction of your survivors.  I've gotten everything but the skull mask.  Oh you will be mine some day!  


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***End Spoilers***
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Multiplayer tips! 
Gotta get all those parts!    Get all those parts early so you can enjoy the multiplayer game later on.  Each person has their own way of getting to 120 survivors and here's what I used for my set up.  It took me until week 4 to get 126 survivors and I got attacked twice.   People who say your group doesn't get attacked til week 5 are liars.  


YOU MUST PLAY SURVIVORS TO GET THE MOST PARTS.  Supply Raid ends way too quickly and the most parts I've gotten from this mode was about 80.  

-Revolver (don't forget to upgrade!)
-No big gun
-Crafter 3
-Collecter 2
-Reviver 2 (not used a lot but it really helps when it takes like 10 seconds normally to revive a teammate.) 

The first few days you can mess around but even with 100+ parts you only increase your clan about 9-14 people.  

When using the above set up sprint to each of the parts boxes closest to you.  Craft only smoke bombs, first aid kits, and shivs.   Gift items when you can but preferably at the start of rounds so your team can use the items to the fullest.  

*A first round for me would consist of sprinting to three or four supply boxes. Crafting as many shivs(or melee board), first aid kits,  and smoke bombs as I can.  I then rush the typically two gifts I crafted to a teammate(s).   Thanks to Crafter 3 I then have enough parts to upgrade my revolver by one level.  I rush off to my teammates to help where I can and mark my opponents, shiv them, or take them down my more accurate gun.  If I'm good enough I can take down all four by myself. 

*Second rounds usually have me doing the same thing as round one but then upgrading my revolver a second time.  I usually get most of my kills in this round because of my gun upgrade and my opponents lack of armor. 

*Round three gets tricky because people are able to afford better weapons and armor meaning a lot of my teammates do the killing or it's harder to kill my opponents because they have armor and a bunch of molotovs and machetes spawned from the supply cases  because they are losing.   I mainly craft and gift this round and try to get some stealth shivs in. 

*For the forth, and hopefully not final round because more rounds means more parts, I start to use armor.  I also might switch a class because usually I have enough parts (unless I have a group over 100) that takes away reviver 2 for a big gun and adds in maybe covert 2 or marathon runner and bomber.   I upgrade the bigger gun and it helps get rid of the other team's pesky armor upgrades. 

*Rounds five though seven are played much like three and four.   With the exception that half my team and opponents usually don't have enough for armor.   I usually like to craft and gift at these stages to push my parts earnings over 90.


Phew that was a lot of  text  so finally...

Should you get The Last of Us?  For the $60 I paid I think it was worth the price but only because I play the heck out the multiplayer.    The single player is short, about 12 hours and that can be knocked out in a weekend.   If you only want to play for the single player then rent this game.   If you are enticed by the multiplayer only I say try it out first if you can.  There's only two multiplayer modes but I personally find them both addicting.  There is future DLC coming out and it hopefully will add another chapter to single player and more game modes for multiplayer.  

Marvel Universe Storm Review

I hope I don't sound like a broken record but over here where I live we don't see the newer Marvel Universe waves for months. It doesn't make sense because other cities around a thirty or so mile radius around me see new waves but I never see the newer figures unless it's in a collector's *coughscalpercough* store.  

Resident Evil 6 Review ***SPOILERS, Probably***

Sorry no photos in this review.   I also hope this mini review makes sense.  I'm writing it after work and my wording skills isn't so good right now.   I'm still not sure what I can and cannot do when it's comes to pictures of games I'm reviewing.  Anywho this mini review is from a long time fan of the Resident Evil series so I hope this helps you decide on whether to buy, or not buy this latest entry.

 ***SPOILERS****  I'm going to try to keep them as minor as possible.  

Marvel Legends Hope Summers

Here we have Hope Summers.  The next newest member of my Exile team.  I originally wasn't going to get her because she was so hard to find, but she popped up at all my local Targets recently so I picked one up.   Hope is a great toy with her only flaw being her inability to stand up correctly due to her top heavy accessories and small feet. 

Marvel Legends 25th Anniversary Wolverine

I've been on a Marvel Legends kick lately because I've been wanting assemble my own team of dimension hoppers for my own team of plastic Exiles.   Even though this figure says limited edition there are a bunch floating around the internet for cheap.  This guy only cost me $10 on Amazon so I couldn't pass him up. 

This might be the 25th Anniversary Wolverine toy but for my purposes he comes from a dimension where he inherits the Silver Surfer's powers and joins the Exiles for...  yeah let's get down to the pictures. 

Marvel Universe Kitty Pryde

I've actually had this toy for a while, but I was saving her for a time when I haven't purchased any toys for a while.   With my interests moving to Marvel Legends I decided to open her up after being sad about not finding any of the more popular ones in any stores around me.  The only new Marvel Legends I have seen near me are Drax, sometimes Captain Bucky, Ironman, and Claw.   Never anything else, so if I have some extra cash I may purchase some of the ones I want though Amazon.  

DC Direct Green Lantern Series 4 Red Lantern Guy Gardner

I believe this toy should technically be a "Hybrid" Lantern rather than just a Red Lantern because Guy has both the Green Lantern ring of Willpower and the Red Lantern Ring of Hate.    I think this guy might be my favorite out my Rainbow Lantern Justice League.   I picked him up for about $14 on Amazon and I think he was well worth the price.   I think it would be cool if DC made more Hybrid Lanterns.    I would def add the seven ring Kyle Rayner, all the Hybrid Jordans and the other Hybrid Guy to my collection.   

S.H. Figuarts Jusco Exclusive Shinken Red Kaoru Shiba

I'll be honest.  I was planning on selling this toy to help me recuperate from my trip to Japan.  The longer I waited the more this figure depreciated in value so I just decided to open her up and keep her for my own.  And after opening I do not regret it because she's a great figure and I think I might make an all female team of Figuarts Rangers. 

I've seen this toy before and when I hit up the Jusco/Aeon Mall (I hope I remember that right) i was super surprised to see her shelf warming for about ¥2500.   I almost spent my whole toy budget on a bunch of her to sell at home for a hundred bucks a pop but I stopped myself.  I also got Gokai Darin at the time because of a special Red Ranger promotion they were doing with Gokai Red.  My Japanese is horrible so I could only half understand what the sales lady was saying to me.  

Gears of War 3 Anya

Here's another Neca review and I actually like this figure.   I picked up Anya for around twelve or thirteen dollars and I'm not disappointed.  I was at first when I opened up the box and saw her hair, but after opening her up I saw the hair sculpt was actually separate from the head and all it needed was a good little push.  Unfortunately Anya suffers from what I call "Females cheaper than males toys - itis..."   Yeah doesn't make too much sense but that this means is the Anya figure is much cheaper than the other Gears of War figures.   No Marcus or Dom are going to be decorating my shelf slicing baddies with their Lancers.    Not for the price they're currently demanding anyways.   

Blackest Night Indigo 1

I got this toy for only ten dollars off of Amazon!    Well worth it in my opinion to complete my over powered Justice League.      For the Indigo lanterns I actually had a choice of half naked buff guys or this half naked alien girl.   You can probably tell which one I choose for my Justice League.    

Transformers Prime Soundwave

I have an unwritten, unenforced rule that if i'm going to pay full price for a figure it better be something I really like. I paid around $13 for Soundwave and while he is my favorite Decepticon I think this toy wasn't worth it.   This time Soundwave is flimsy, and feels brittle.   Soundwave just doesn't feel like I got my bang for my buck.    Oh yeah he comes with a weak Laserbeak.   But it's better than having to buy a Laserbeak seperately.  

Diablo III Review

Over the past couple of months I've spent nearly one hundred hours, if not more on Diablo III.    I'll be honest those hours spent playing haven't always been the most exciting or thrilling but I still do enjoy the game.   Diablo III or D3 as I'll probably refer to it in most of this post is a really fun game if you enjoy point and click games with friends.  I personally like the game for it's incentive to level up and gain new skills all the way til the end of the game.  

Play Arts Full Metal Alchemist Winry Rockbell

I didn't know Play Arts made figures from the show Full Metal Alchemist.   I was a fan of the show when it first aired on Adult Swim back in 2004 or 2005.  I don't remember.    Anywho I actually saw the Elric brothers go for ridiculous prices on the internet.   I don't feel right paying over twenty bucks for one of these smaller Play Arts.   Then I saw they made a Winry and she was only six dollars!   I figured why the hell not and placed my order on Amazon.   Winry was cheaper and a beer at the bar and I don't regret buying her.   I've yet to justify the forty plus dollars for the Elric brothers to buy them.    

The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultra Posable Spider-Man

Here's a much more recent figure I bought.  I originally wasn't going to get this guy because I don't really like his leg joints.    But the more I play with him the more I enjoy the figure.     It reminds me a lot of an old Spider-Man toy I still have somewhere that was really fun to play with.  It was "Ultra Poseable" at the time and this figure brought back memories.    I picked it up on sale at a Target for under eight bucks so I highly recommend him if you want a Spidey and fits in with the Marvel movie toys. 

DC Direct Green Lantern Series Soranik Natu

I appear to amassing quite the female figure collection in my girlfriend's absence...  Oh well my mindset I'm just trying to make myself uber straight by balancing out my collection of transforming robots and muscular men by adding more female figures into the mix.   

Enough of that.  I keep on forgetting which toys I've reviewed and which I haven't because even though I'm at 60+ posts I've only done toys I haven't opened yet.  I'll probably go back and do more reviews on the ones I've opened later. 

I'm actually trying to make an over powered Justice League out of all the different lanterns.   In future reviews I will show off the others ones I bought but the only two colors I need to get are orange and black.  I usually wait til Amazon makes the prices for these toys go down.  No way am I going to pay more than 16 bucks for one of these.

I got Soranik for I believe $15.95 on Amazon and I think she was worth the price.   I probably could have gone to a comic shop and picked out a more flawless one(mine has paint splotches) but that would have meant a higher price tag and gas money.    She looks good and despite having crap articulation I'm glad to have her in my collection and a part of my Justice League shelf! 

Transformers Prime Cyberverse Megatron

For today's review I have here the Cyberverse sized Megatron.   I like this figure a lot more than Bulkhead due to Megs being able to pose better.   He does have two faults in my opinion and that is legs only have the single joint at the knee and no ball jointed foot.   Megatron's alternate mode also really sucks.   I do not like the alt mode at all.  

Marvel Universe Age of Thunder Thor

Ok I know I've been griping about how expensive these little guys are how I'm not going to buy anymore of them and well...  I got one more.  The only reason I bought this guy was to complete my 3.75 inch Avengers movie team.  Well not the actual movie figures but what figures I think fits nicely into the team.  I got Thor for a whooping $12.23 with tax!   Hardly justifiable to buy these little guys for so much when they're coming with less and less.   The new Marvel Universe figures don't even come with stands anymore!   Just small cardboard cutout artwork.        

Thundercats Cheetara

Alright, Alright!   I've decided after Cheetara I will open some of the toys I've got saved up.  I'm gonna reward myself after work tomorrow by opening up one of them.  I have about seven unopened toys and several of them are still from Japan... 

But on to Cheetara.   I waited a couple of months to get her simply because I could not find her in my area and scalpers online wanted ridiculous prices for her.  I didn't not want to pay over thirty bucks for her and when I saw her go for ten bucks on Amazon I jumped on the opportunity.   Since then the price for Cheetara has gone up to twenty and stuck around that price.   

Cheetara does not dissapoint with her only flaws being quality control and the absence of a shoulder swivel.   They gave her a bo but she can't really pose with it too well.   Since she comes with the least accessories it would have been nice to give her a stand so she can be in a running pose like the TV show.  

Transformers Prime: Cyberverse Bulkhead

 This time I'll be showing you Transformers Prime Bulkhead!    This is the Cyberverse version and I bought it for about nine dollars which I kind of regret.    I still remember when deluxe figures where ten dollars and for that price they were highly articulated.    While Bulkhead is fun the figure lacks in certain areas.   The thing that bugs me the most about this figure is the huge hallow back and how Bulkhead has a little trouble standing up.   While I love the leader class Animated Bulkhead this Prime toy is a fun desk toy.   It's poses are a bit limited though because of the single jointed knees and non-moving ankles.  

Transformers Prime Wheeljack

I'm not really too much of a fan of this toy.  My friend Barry owed me money so instead of giving me back the cold hard cash he got me this toy.   While Wheeljack isn't a bad toy the arms are kind of a deal breaker for me.  They do have ball joints on their shoulders but their single jointed elbows really hinder  the toy's posing ability.    I won't talk too much so you can enjoy the pictures and make your own decision on whether or not to spend the money on this guy here.